The present invention relates to a fixing device applied to image forming apparatuses such as copiers, laser printers and facsimiles.
Conventionally there is a fixing device composed of a fixing roller, a pressure roller for transporting a recording member with the fixing roller in the state of being in contact with the fixing roller, and a magnetic flux generating section placed outside the fixing roller for generating a magnetic flux to make the fixing roller generate heat (see JP 2000-214713 A).
However, in the conventional fixing device, when the magnetic flux generating section is operated while the fixing roller is in a stopped state during a standby time at which transportation of the recording member is not requested, there is a possibility that the fixing roller might locally generate heat and be damaged.
Moreover, during the standby time, the mere contact between the fixing roller and the pressure roller is not sufficient enough to successfully conduct heat from the fixing roller to the pressure roller, and therefore it becomes impossible to keep the pressure roller at a specified temperature during the standby time, as a result of which the fixing device needs a longer time to recover from the standby state.